What have you abandoned along the way?

On the way from childhood to now we’ve all abandoned things. Toys, boyfriends, jobs, clothes. We’ve given up on things we loved, thought we might love, or at least wanted a chance to see if we could love. We’ve also discarded things we tried and, at the time, didn’t love.

For me that list includes playing a musical instrument (why the hell did I pick the accordion?), being a dancer (here’s my ballet story), artist, veterinarian, singer, marine biologist (I really just wanted to swim with dolphins), technical illustrator, writer, spy, private detective, trapeze artist, pilot, and so on.

Now, a lot of people, young people, are under the impression that as far as ambitions like this are concerned, once it’s gone, it’s gone. When the opportunity passes it will never come again.

WRONG!

Wrong, wrong, wrong…did I mention wrong?

It’s never too late to dig out an old love, blow off some of the dust and bring it back to life. It may not look exactly like it did way back then, but then again neither do we.

One of the things I work with my clients to recognize is that with the passing of the years comes a freedom from other people’s standards. If you want to paint, paint! No one says you have to be any good, but you might be. If you want to make music, pick an instrument and find an instructor (or try YouTube videos) and make some noise. It might become music, or not. That doesn’t matter as long as you’re enjoying it

I’m not going to try the accordion again, but I do love to sing. After years of only singing in the car, alone, with the windows rolled up and the radio turned way up now I’m singing when there are people around. Just because I like it and every once in a while I actually carry the tune! Whoo hoo! You should hear me at the grocery store. They play my kind of music.

I’ve taken up painting and am about to try my hand at pottery and other clay arts. No pressure to achieve a particular level of mastery. All I need is to enjoy doing it. If I manage to produce stuff other people like, that’s a bonus. And there is such potential for really bad gifts.

I get my spy and detective thrills through reading, and peeking into people’s homes and back yards (I do live in the land of perpetual estate sales after all.)

At this point I don’t see myself flying through the air with the greatest of ease, either in a plane or from a trapeze but that doesn’t mean I won’t be bitten by that bug again sometime in the future. I have a friend who is bound and determined to get me to jump out of an airplane.

What old loves do you have buried in the back of your closet? Dig them out: the unrealized ambitions, the abandoned dreams, the half-finished craft projects, the unopened kits, the forgotten guitar, the partially completed degree. Dig them out and give one or more of them life again, the ones that make you smile, pique your curiosity, stir your imagination.

If you’re already a Bodacious Bad-ass Old Broad, or want to hang out with some, check out the Adventure Club to see what’s brewing.

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